BA KAUNG, The Irrawaddy, Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The UN began initial efforts on Tuesday to provide aid for refugees in the armed conflict areas of Kachin State in northern Burma, where sporadic fighting continues despite Burmese President Thein Sein’s reported instruction to government troops that they should hold fire except in self-defense.
On Monday evening, a small UN team arrived in Laiza, a town on the China-Burma border where the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has its military headquarters. They brought with them six truckloads of essential household materials.
This is the first time that the Burmese government has allowed a UN organization access to KIA-controlled areas since armed conflict between government troops and the KIA broke out June, with clashes consistently recurring since that time.
The over 34,000 war refugees who sought shelter in Laiza have previously received no international or Burmese government aid during the over six months of fighting, forcing them to survive on handouts from local Kachin aid groups and the KIA.
The UN team includes staff from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Organization for Humanitarian Assistance, whose task is to launch an initial relief effort and perform an assessment of the situation.
“As part of the UN team, UNICEF provided 300 family kits, which contain essential household items to cover the basic domestic (cooking, personal hygiene) and shelter needs (blankets and cloths) for as many families,” said Zafrin Chowdury, the spokesperson for UNICEF in Rangoon.
“It is UNICEF and the UN's hope that more convoys with UN supplies will be allowed to reach all those displaced and in need,” he added.
Read moreUN Launches Relief Aid in Kachin State Conflict Zones
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